Disa Incoming Assignment Of Lease

What is the difference between a sublet, lease assignment, and a lease break?

If you need to exit your lease early and your landlord allows you to find another tenant, you should ask your landlord how he or she prefers to structure the new lease. Does your landlord prefer the new tenant to finish out the remaining term of your lease or does the landlord prefer you to end your lease and find a new tenant to start a brand new lease.

If the landlord would prefer the new tenant to finish out the term on your lease , then you will need to find a short term renter assuming your remaining lease term is less than 12 months, which it usually is. You will then need to know from your landlord if he or she would prefer you to find someone to “sublet” your place, or would the landlord prefer you find someone to “assign” the remaining portion of your lease to. Here are the definitions:

Sublet: The incoming tenant will be your “subtenant” and will pay the rent to you. You would still be responsible for fulfilling your obligations under the lease. You are still responsible for paying the rent to the landlord.

Lease Assignment: The incoming tenant would be “assigned” your current lease. The relationship with your landlord will end, and the new tenant will be responsible for the terms of the lease and will pay rent directly to the landlord.

Leasebreak: If your landlord prefers you to end your lease early (essentially “breaking your lease”) then your relationship would end with your landlord, and the new tenant would sign a brand new lease , usually for at least 12 months.

On Leasebreak.com, tenant, agents, and landlords post sublets, lease assignments, and “lease breaks”. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at info@leasebreak.com.

Breaking My LeaseInterested in Short Term RentalsOUR WEBSITE: www.leasebreak.com

When a good tenant wants to assign their commercial lease, understandably, the landlord may have serious concerns. Will the new tenant take good care of the property and be as responsible as the previous tenant? However, the tenant equally may be concerned if the assignment of the lease affects the ongoing success of their business.

Tom Gibbons, commercial solicitor at Tallents in Newark looks at the key concerns surrounding commercial lease assignments for the parties to the assignment.

Says Tom,

“An assignment of a Commercial Lease is where a new tenant steps into the shoes of the original tenant and takes over the lease going forward. As a result, there are three different perspectives to take into account on lease assignments, not just the landlord and the tenant, but also the new incoming tenant, usually called the assignee.

“Landlords will, quite reasonably, always want to ensure that they have a degree of control over who is occupying their properties, after all, the landlord’s interest might be harmed if a responsible tenant assigns the Lease to a less reliable replacement.

“Equally, tenants typically expect a degree of flexibility in their leases to take account of changing circumstances, for instance if they need to expand (or indeed downsize) premises, or in the event of selling their business and needing to hand on the Lease as part of the sale.”

Tom continues,

“Assignees will want to ensure that they are taking on a lease which gives them all of the protections that they need, and that they will have a suitable degree of flexibility going forward too.”

Ensure commercial leases are well drafted

A well-drafted commercial lease should aim to strike a suitable balance between these competing factors. The issues should be considered at two separate points in the process:

Lease drafting – when the lease is drafted the landlord and the tenant should ensure that they are satisfied that suitable wording is in place to deal with the prospect of future assignments, even if at the time they may think it is unlikely to ever come up.

This is an issue in particular for tenants, who should consider the whole of the lease and think ‘if I came to assign this lease, is there anything in it which a potential assignee might not like?’ Some tenants might, for instance, be willing to enter into certain lease clauses which other people may not want in their leases, and there may be a risk that by going ahead, the tenant might end up taking on a lease which could be harder to assign if they ever needed to.

On assignment – it is crucial that the procedure as set out in the lease is checked and followed so as to ensure that the assignment is valid. All parties are likely to need professional advice in terms of the assignment procedure.

Commercial lease assignment with the landlord’s prior consent

A typical approach found in many commercial leases would be to say that a tenant can only assign the Lease with the Landlord’s prior consent, but that the landlord cannot unreasonably withhold or delay giving consent. The main ground on which a landlord might reasonably be entitled to refuse consent would be if the assignee did not appear to have the standing and resources to pay the rent and abide by the tenant’s obligations in the Lease.

Tenants acting as guarantor for the assignee

In addition, most commercial leases would normally contain reference to certain conditions, which can be attached to the landlord’s permission for an assignment. The most important of these is normally that the tenant must agree to act as guarantor for the assignee for the period up until either the end of the lease or when the assignee enters into a further assignment; this means that the tenant remains liable to the landlord if the assignee breaches the lease. Other conditions might involve the lodging of a rent deposit and/or the provision of guarantors by the assignee.

Dealing with everyone’s concerns

Each of the parties will have to ensure that their own concerns are dealt with as part of the process:

Landlords will usually want to see references in relation to the assignee in order to check that they are of suitable standing to take over the lease and fulfil the tenant’s obligations. The assignee should have the details ready as soon as possible so as to avoid any delay.

Tenants should also be taking an interest in the standing of the assignee – as explained above, if the tenant is expected to be the assignee’s guarantor then the tenant should try to ascertain whether the assignee is likely to be a good tenant because, if they are not, the tenant could be called upon under the guarantee.

Assignees will need to check the lease carefully to check that it does not contain any provisions that do not work for them. Unless a variation to the lease can be agreed as part of the assignment, the assignee will step into the shoes of the tenant and will ‘inherit’ any problematic issues. On a similar theme, the assignee should be concerned to check that the tenant has complied with the lease, for instance in relation to keeping the property in repair, because from the moment of the assignment, any liability may be passed on.

Tallents’ commercial property department has experience in advising landlords, tenants and assignees regarding all aspects of commercial lease assignments and the landlord and tenant relationship. In the event of a dispute then our specialist litigation solicitors can help guide clients through the process.